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Date	Original Topic
23rd August 2005	Pte. Thomas Henry Short - Was He At Rorke's Drift? By Nick Thornicroft I have recently discovered a newspaper article from 1916 which describes the funeral of the above named soldier, who claimed he was at Rorke's Drift with the 24th Foot. He was 58 years old & a native of the Forest of Dean, Glos. His name does not appear in the accepted Roll of Defenders, so is anyone aware of this man (as an alias, perhaps?), or was he simply "bending the truth" a little bit? Many thanks.
Date	Replies
23rd August 2005	Ian Woodason Nick, He was probably 1612 T Short, 1/24th - who 'transferred into the 24th' and had the '1879' medal clasp only - so probably would have been in one of the drafts going out to SA after Isandlwana to replace those killed there. He might well have been at RD at some time in 1879 but not on the 22nd/23rd January. Ian
23rd August 2005	Nick Thornicroft Ian Many thanks for clearing that up. For a while there I thought Gloucestershire had another link with Rorke's Drift! Nick